In Norse mythology, Verðandi (Old Norse, meaning possibly "happening" or "present" ), sometimes anglicized as Verdandi or Verthandi, is one of the norns. Along with Urðr (Old Norse "fate" ) and Skuld (possibly "debt" or "future" ), Verðandi makes up a trio of Norns that are described as deciding the fates (wyrd) of people.

Etymology

Verðandi is literally the present participle of the Old Norse verb "verða", "to become", and is commonly translated as "in the making" or "that which is happening/becoming"; it is related to the Dutch word worden and the German word werden, both meaning "to become". "Werdend" is not a commonly used German word in modern times, but intutitively means the things that "are becoming", as -nd is the gerund form.

Attestation

Völuspá

She appears in the following verse from the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, along with Urðr and Skuld: